Cameron Sinclair trained as an architect at the University of Westminster and at the Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London. During his studies Sinclair developed an interest in social, cultural and humanitarian design. His postgraduate thesis focused on providing shelter to New York's homeless through sustainable, transitional housing. In 1999 Sinclair and Kate Stohr founded Architecture for Humanity as a charitable organization that seeks architectural solutions for humanitarian crises and provides design services to communities in need. Over the past decade the organization has worked in 26 countries on projects ranging from school, health clinics, affordable housing and long term sustainable reconstruction. In 2006, Sinclair and Stohr compiled a bestselling book Design Like You Give A Damn: Architectural Responses to Humanitarian Crises and are currently working on a second volume.

Sinclair is the recipient of numerous awards including the 2006 TED Prize, and was recently selected as a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum. As a result of the 2006 TED Prize, Architecture for Humanity launched the Open Architecture Network, the world's first open source community dedicated to improving living conditions through innovative and sustainable design. Every two years this network hosts a global challenge to tackle a systemic issue within the built environment.

Sinclair is heavily involved in bringing socially relevant building into academia and he lectures regularly at schools in the United States and abroad, and has spoken at a number of international business and design conferences on sustainable development and post disaster reconstruction. Sinclair is The University of Auckland School of Architecture and Planning International Architect-in-Residence for 2011.